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Sunday, 12 July 2015

The police cannot compel an accused to undergo unnecessary medical examination, as doing so amounts to violation of the right to privacy of the individual, the Bombay high court (HC) held last week, while hearing a petition filed by a 31-year-old civic engineer, who was detained illegally for two days and subjected to potency and psychiatric tests.

Based on a complaint of dowry harassment and cruelty filed by his wife, the Ambad police picked up the man from his residence in Airoli on April 12, 2014. He was taken to Ambad in a private car and was subjected to a medical examination at Aurangabad. A local court released him on bail on April 14, 2014.

“The medical tests the petitioner was subjected to were unnecessary and not permitted under the law. It was an unlawful intrusion of the right of privacy of the petitioner and disrespect to his dignity,” said the division bench of justice TV Nalavade and justice Indira Jain, directing the state government to pay a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the engineer.

The Airoli resident later approached the Aurangabad bench of the high court, contending his detention was illegal and the medical tests were conducted forcefully and without his consent. He sought a departmental action against the police personnel concerned and a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.

The court also asked the state to recover the compensation amount and initiate departmental proceedings against the errant police officer, assistant sub-inspector NY Antarap.

In another case of illegal detention, the same bench granted a compensation of Rs 50,000 to a 31-year-old from Beed. The man was arrested on July 23, 2012 over a matrimonial dispute and kept in illegal detention for a day. The court held his detention was illegal, after noticing that though preventive action was proposed, no crime was registered against the man.

THE CASE* Based on a complaint of dowry harassment and cruelty filed by his wife, the Ambad police picked up the man from his residence in Airoli on April 12, 2014. He was taken to Ambad in a private car and was subjected to medical examination at Aurangabad. A local court released him on bail on April 14, 2014.

* The Airoli resident later approached the Aurangabad bench of the high court, contending his detention was illegal and the medical tests were conducted forcefully and without his consent. He sought departmental action against the police personnel concerned and a compensation of Rs10 lakh.

WHAT THE COURT SAID“The medical tests the petitioner was subjected to were unnecessary and not permitted under the law. It was an unlawful intrusion of the right of privacy of the petitioner and disrespect to his dignity." ~ Division bench of justice TV Nalavade and justice Indira Jain

PUNISHMENTThe court has asked the state to recover the compensation amount of Rs 2 lakh and initiate departmental proceedings against the errant police officer, assistant sub-inspector NY Antarap.